Ichigo no Ryoko Jikan
by bleachdreamer0
Summary: Ichigo drops into his inner world to figure out why his hollow had reappeared after defeating Ulquiorra. What he learns... may shake the foundations of his world. Major spoilers for those who are not up-to-date with the manga. TimeTravel! Quincy!Ichigo. Can changing the past really save the future?
1. Timeless

Ichigo had never been normal by any standards. He knew that. But as he watched disembodied, he couldn't believe it as _his Zangetsu_ pierced through Ulquiorra's hierro. As _his sword _plunged through one of his closest friend's chest. He felt his mind wanting to scream in protest, but no action happening. It was only when he saw Ulquiorra's blade pass through the horn attached to his head, that he felt a burning and blinding pain shoot through his skull, feeling his consciousness get pulled right back to the front. He felt his limbs, and the hard shell surrounding his body. But it didn't disperse, not yet.

He fell on his knees, and searched deep within himself to find the hollow. He could feel that his presence had returned. He knew that he had probably lost consciousness, but he needed to explain the phenomena.

Falling into his sideways world, he saw that it was halfway full of water, rain pouring down, many of the skyscrapers reduced to rubble. And then, he saw a black hooded figure, whom he had assumed was Zangetsu, sitting, unlike standing on his usual pole, and a slightly different uniform.

"Zangetsu?" He called out, watching as the figure turned his head up, no sunglasses in sight. Likewise, a young face turned to look up at him.

"Do I look like an old man?" He responded. If he wasn't Zangetsu... then...?

"Are you... Tensa Zangetsu?" The black-haired man smiled softly.

"Yes... how far you have fallen however. This inner world of yours. Your resolve has broken down so much. If only... if only you could remember Ichigo." The now identified Tensa Zangetsu shook his head, his silvery blue eyes sad.

"Your depression is contagious, aibou." He heard a raspy voice say behind him. Ichigo whipped around, and saw the face he had been look for, with a horned mask pushed to the side of his face.

"What?" I asked incredulously. The hollow laughed.

"You don't see it? That hollow that just destroyed the Quatro espada wasn't me- that was the embodiment of your despair, and now its form has attached to me! Whether or not if I care about your friends, I want you to fix this!" He growled, his white Tensa Zangetsu glinting in the moon above the drowned city. Ichigo fisted his eyes, frustrated.

"THEN HOW!?" He screamed, finally at his breaking point. Tensa Zangetsu glared at him.

"Quiet down. Yelling never solved anything. However, there is one thing that all bankai forms know, since the creation of the zanpakuto. But, I am not a zanpakuto-"

"Wait what? You're not a zanpakuto?!" He asked incredulously. His hollow glared at him.

"No. We weren't planning on telling you, but it seems its finally reached the point where you need the ancient Quincy powers. I am actually a split of your own soul patterned to be exactly like a zanpakuto, so much that I have every aspect of one, including the spiritual energy of one too, except the fact I was never an asauchi, created by the God of the Sword of the Zero Division, Oetsu Nimaiya. The only reason why I know of this is the information, is the time Sode no Shirayuki's spiritual essence spent in your inner world imprinted memories and information into your world." He explained. I gaped. I was a quincy?

"I'm a quincy?" He voiced his thoughts. Hollow rolled his eyes.

"Not exactly... your father has been keeping a very, _very _dark secret from you..." He chuckled.

"Your mother was a quincy, Ichigo. Your father is a Shinigami." Tensa Zangetsu said solemnly. "However that's beside the point-"

"Besides the point!?" Ichigo exclaimed. "This is something extremely important! You're telling me that all this time, ever since I was born, that I would've known about my powers? That my mother actually would've defended herself on that night?!"

**"SHUT UP!" **His hollow screamed. **"You want to protect your town and your future right? Well, Aizen's a threat! Knowledge is your weakness, Ichigo! All you need is the reason and the means, which we are TRYING to GIVE TO YOU!" **He screamed, his voice echoing in the silent rain. Ichigo fell silent.

"As I was trying to say Ichigo, the Quincy have a forbidden technique, that normally will disintegrate the body and send them to the Soul Society, something all Quincy avoid doing as long as possible, a sin as bad as suicide. However, as you are half Soul reaper, you can survive without a body, and you hold no such morals... this technique can send the user back in time, as a Soul, directly to the Soul Society. It was a technique used by spies under Juha Bach, the old leader of a quincy revolution thousands of years ago, before the utter obliteration of almost all Quincies. I can help you get there, however, imagine all that you'll leave behind." Tensa explained further, his face becoming passionate and animated, very different from Zangetsu alone.

Did he really want to abandon this timeline, his friends and everything to save them in the future?...

"I'll do it." he whispered. Tensa's eyebrows furrowed.

"What was that? Is your resolve so weak that you can't say it proudly! Do you want to prevent all this from happening, or not!"

"I DO! I want to go back to before all of this began, back before I was even born- I want it to be before Rukia even became a Soul Reaper- before Hisana died! Before Yoruichi and Hat-and-Clogs were exiled! I want to be the one who controls what happens this time! I want to defeat Aizen!" Just as soon as those last words passed his lips, the world started spinning.

"Nice job, aibou. I just about thought all your resolve had turned to mush." His hollow chuckled, the water of the city evaporating into magnificent white clouds surrounding a large silver moon, which soon rose to be a bright sun. The crumbling cities became whole, and Zangetsu appeared beside Tensa.

"I hated the rain," Zangetsu started, placing a hand on his younger half. "So I lent you the power to stop it."

"The rain has finally stopped, but now everything is changing. Ichigo, what you may find in the past may be very much different of you know of now."

And as Tensa finished, the waterless world faded.

**So? How was that? I know many of you think that Tensa and Hichigo are a bit out of character from the impression you get from them when Ichigo is trying to achieve Mugetsu, but now they're just depressed, and there is no threat of their powers being destroyed.**


	2. Meeting Family

**Chapter 2 Thanx to my reviewers, yoruichifan, Phantom Claire and The Unknown Shinigami! Your reviews are always welcome, and I take heed the advice (whether I use it or not is so-so).**

When Ichigo opened his eyes again, he wasn't sure what he would see. However, when he did, he had the weird gut instinct that he was looking in a mirror. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn't dreaming...

He wasn't.

"Hey... Ganju? Look who I found over here." the man called out, in a voice not too different from his own. Ganju?

"What is it nii-san? I was just putting away Kukaku's damn- who the heck is that guy?!" An all too familiar voice called out. I sat up, taking a look at my surroundings, and then, at myself.

'_Uh, Zangetsu?' _he called out in his mind.

'It's Tensa.' a terse, young voice replied. Shaking it off, I continued.

'_Why am I wearing peasant clothes?'_ I asked, tugging at the dusty colored hakamas I wore.

'When souls go to the Soul Society they all wear standard japanese clothing of long ago. That is what the Soul King decided.' He explained. Ichigo's eyebrows furrowed.

'_Then where are you? Or, rather, where is Zangetsu?' _He asked. However, before he could answer, he was jerked back to reality.

"Oi, Carrot-top, are you ok?" The man in front of him asked, waving a hand in front of his face. I batted it away.

"I'm fine. Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you." I groaned a little bit as I stood up, brushing off my pants, offering a hand. The man took it smiling, Ganju still in the background, gaping like a fish.

"Kaien Shiba, nice to meet you, Ichigo-san. That's my brother, Ganju. My sister Kukaku is over at our house, that weird thing over there. I don't know why our uncle insisted on rebuilding it like this after our parents passed away." He said, jabbing his thumb at the Shiba house with two thumbs up, the banner making a wide arc. "He claims it's an old family tradition our grandparents used to do, that our parents never did. Personally, I think he's lying, but Kukaku believes him wholeheartedly- because he's the Soul Reaper of the family."

"Who's your uncle?" I asked. Yoruichi never mentioned that the Shiba family had an older brother besides Kaien...

"Oh, his name is Isshin, Isshin Shiba. He just became captain of squad 10!" Ichigo paused. Isshin?

_'Zangetsu?' _He asked quietly. A mental nod gave him all he needed. He was standing in front of his cousin. He thought quickly.

"Really? Wow... uh, I don't have anywhere to stay, can I please spend one night?" He asked. If he was going to change the future, it probably would be best if he did it with family, even if they didn't know it.

"Sure! You can stay as long as you want, just don't mooch, or my sister will get crazy." Kaien smiled, leading him to the large mansion.

Ganju, however finally caught up to them though.

"O-oi, nii-san! What are you doing- you can't just invite a stranger into the house, let alone just another plus!" Kaien turned and glared at him.

"The Shiba clan has the benefit of being born into a household. Most pluses don't, and their souls get pulled back into the reincarnation cycle. Let's at least let him stay here until we can find a new place for him. And before you protest, Ganju, right now, I'm the oldest, since Isshin is a _captain._ What I say, goes!" He barked. Now intimidated, Ganju shut up, grumbling. He was acting very differently than he did back in Ichigo's timeline. More... how to say... annoying. Kaien was almost exactly like himself too... except, less hot-headed.

When they finally got the house, the two twins Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko stood in front, looking wildly different, their faces much softer, and light, their bodies less muscular, and something in their eyes that screamed 'newbies'.

"These are the newest members of the Shiba Guard, Koganehiko and Shiroganehiko. Twins born out of Rukongai." Kaien said. They both saluted Kaien.

"Guys, this is Ichigo Kurosaki, a guest of ours." He introduced for me. I nodded and gave a slight wave.

As we walked down the near-endless stairs, Kaien continued to talk about the family, while Ganju had disappeared somewhere.

"... so as I was saying, Isshin is Kukaku's, Ganju's and my role model. He's almost like a father to all of us, as he's almost older than all of us by 50 years. I was actually planning on enlisting in the Shino Academy tomorrow, which is where souls like you, from Rukongai, and noble families like me, go to become Soul Reapers. Kukaku claims that she doesn't want to, because if she does, it would leave Ganju in charge of the main house, and is afraid that he would redesign the house, in a way that's probably less than traditional." He laughed.

I kept silent for the most part. I wasn't sure how to act.

"So, I'm going to negotiate your terms of living here with Kukaku. You can hang out in my room until then. Its the last door of the hallway." He said, as he went into another room that was probably Kukaku's.

Inside of Kaien's room, it was quite plain. Most of the stuff had been packed into boxes. There was the futon still left out, along with a single portrait. I sat down on the bed, and looked at it. It appeared to be a family portrait of the Shiba clan, Kukaku (with all her limbs) in front, Ganju on her lap, Kaien resting his elbow on Kukaku's head, and a very familiar face beside Kaien's, an hand both on Kaien and Kukaku.

This... this was his dad...

Setting down the portrait, I plopped back down on the bed.

"Hey, hollow?" He asked into the open air. He felt a stirring underneath his skin.

"**Yes, King?"** He answered back teasingly. I refrained from snapping at him.

"Why are you being so civil to me?" He asked quietly. His hollow was silent.

"**Regardless to what you may think, Ichigo, I am, and will always be a part of your soul, and you dying not only leads to Tensa and Zangetsu's death, but mine too. Just because I had wanted control, doesn't mean I wanted you dead. With any of us destroyed, we can't function as a whole. Ever since Ulquiorra nearly killed us... Tensa had not so kindly... convinced me... to accept your position as king permanently... or at least until you truly need our help." **His hollow explained. Ichigo nodded slightly. That sounded like Tensa, alright.

"Tensa?" He called out to his Zanpakuto next. A muffled groan met him in response.

"I thought you were only going to bug him..." He practically whined. Ichigo raised a mental eyebrow.

"_Ignore him," _a deep male voice answered. That was definitely Zangetsu.

"So... should I join the Shino academy with Kaien?" I asked quietly, waiting for a response. A chuckle met him.

"_You chose to come back to the past to change everything, and you didn't even have a plan. Classic Ichigo. But, yes. I do think that you should consider going, as it will give us all the opportunity to get close to Aizen, even though I don't think he's even a lieutenant yet. It all depends on you. Like the hollow always says, you __**are**_ _the king." _Zangetsu agreed. I slumped back down onto the bed, letting out a sigh, blocking out his hollow's arguing with Tensa, for whatever reason, he didn't know.

However, before he could relax for too long, a shouting down the hallway alerted his fighting instincts.

"Kaien Shiba! You mean to tell me you just picked up a random guy to stay in our house! What were you thinking! He could've may as well been a spy from one of the other noble clans; you're such an idiot!" Kukaku's voice screeched, traveling even through his door. Ichigo decided this would probably be his time to intervene.

He opened the Shoji doors into the main room, and saw Kukaku, with both of her limbs, wrestling with Kaien, who was poorly attempting to get his crazy sister off of him.

"Uh... is everything ok here?" He laughed nervously. Both of them turned towards him Kukaku froze, and looked from him, to Kaien, and then back to me. She dropped her brother abruptly, storming past him. Stopping beside me, she gave me a hard glare.

"You have to cook, every meal, with help from our senior chef, until we can get more staff. Got it? Good." She commanded. I sweat dropped once she left.

"I thought you were the head of the family..." I still spooked about her resemblances to the future Kukaku. Kaien chuckled.

"As soon as our parents died, uncle Isshin and I were the only ones able to take care of them. While I protected them, Kukaku put on the tough girl act. Underneath it all though, she still my little sis." Kaien smiled fondly.

"Sounds like my sister," ichigo laughed, without thinking about what he was saying. However, thankfully, Kaien didn't ask any questions, chuckling.

After a slight pause, he laughed.

"I'm not sure if you'll be able to handle her alone once I go to the Shino Academy though..." he trailed off nervously. Ichigo perked up at this.

"Can I come with, then?" He asked quickly. Kaien raised an eyebrow.

"The Shino academy takes vigorous training, and although I wouldn't mind you coming you'd need to have a significant amount of spiritual-" my stomach growling cut him off, making him blink in surprise. Twice.

"Nevermind."


	3. Academy: Induction

Chapter 3 Wow, I can't believe so many people followed, favorited and reviewed this story already! So, I'm going to write another chapter! By the way, in canon it's unsure if Ichigo knows about Kaien's history completely, but let's just say Ganju told him at some point. :P

"The Shino academy takes vigorous training, and although I wouldn't mind you coming you'd need to have a significant amount of spiritual-" my stomach growling cut him off, making him blink in surprise. Twice.

"Never mind,"

I restrained the will to laugh, his face confused and odd. However, eventually he shook his head out of it.

"So, Ichigo… I guess you do have spiritual energy, that's for sure, but still, are you sure you want to enter an academy that takes nearly 3 years, after just arriving here?" Ichigo gave him a look.

"Besides cooking for your sister, I'd have nothing else to do." He sweat dropped. Kaien laughed.

"True, true, sure; you can come with me. In fact, with how similar you look to me, we could be like brothers!" Ichigo smiled. He liked Kaien. This time he would prevent the horrible fate he met by Metastacia.

Kaien slapped him on the back, making him stumble forwards a bit.

"Now go make dinner!" He said, pushing him out of the door.

After I regained my bearings, I chuckled at my situation. A long term plan to save the future, starting with the Shiba family... his family.

..

The next morning was calm. Ichigo was in the kitchen preparing breakfast for the last time for Kukaku Shiba, no real important objects belonging to him besides some clothes Kaien had lent him (they were strangely the exact same size). After a slap on the back by Kukaku to both boys, and a slight glare of suspicion, we began walking towards the West Gate of Rukongai. The villages in the First District were very clean, much like how they were in the future, but this time, the streets were heavily crowded, not deserted like when Ichigo had been a Ryoka.

"Welcome all who dare to enter the Shino Academy!" An announcer called out. Kaien and Ichigo came up next, signing up.

"What's your name boys?" The unseated Shinigamji asked, writing down the names of the entries.

"Kaien Shiba." Kaien waved. The Soul Reaper's eyes flashed with recognition.

"Ichigo-"

"Shiba." Kaien finished for him, throwing him a wink. Frowning in confusion; why was he lying? Its not as if another Ichigo Kurosaki existed in this timeline...

"Well, Shiba family members! Isshin would be proud, come on in, and we'll start the initial testing." The man told them. As Kaien and Ichigo continued to walk, I gave him a funny look.

"Why did you say my name was Shiba?" He turned and looked towards me.

"Its easier this way, trust me. If anyone questions it, I'll have my uncle just say he adopted you. The Shiba family isn't just known for fireworks." He laughed, a little darkly in Ichigo's opinion. I stayed silent. This was odd on how smooth this was going... he felt three* nods of agreement within him.

Ignoring his odd looks, Kaien kept walking.

An instructor smiled, and ushered them into a room where 4 other people stood, and 6 platforms. We stood in front of the remaining two.

The instructor went up to the front of the class, smiling.

"This is the first, and most important part of the test into the Shino academy. This platform measures your spiritual energy. Please stand on the platform." He motioned. Kaien and Ichigo stepped on the platform, as the other 4 did as well.

There was an odd sucking sensation coming from the machine, which partially annoyed Ichigo, but he pushed the feeling away. Making sure to keep his hollow's reiatsu under tight bonds, he began exerting spiritual energy, beginning to glow blue and white. Only two others besides him glowed. Kaien, on his right was glowing a slight red, and a guy on his left a slight purple. Ichigo glanced at the man on his left, and froze, his spiritual flow hiccuping.

It was Aizen. Everything in him screamed to be released. His spiritual output doubled, his hollow barely holding back.

Soon, they had to step off the platform, and Zangetsu and his hollow restraining as much of his angry spiritual pressure as it could. Regardless, a man on the end looked on the verge of fainting. The instructor, however, looked absolutely terrified. Ichigo wasn't surprised. He could also feel Kaien's curious stare on his back as well. The shaken instructor came around, starting from the farthest end, collecting the scores using a type of kido. I was on the end.

When he came up to me, he seemed a bit reluctant in reading it, and he could tell he already made a mistake. The man fainted. On the ground beside him, glowed the words 'On a scale of 1, being weakest, and 1000 being average captain, potential student is: over 9000'. He resisted the urge to face palm.

a bit short but worth it, right?

***zangetsu, tensa zangetsu, and hichigo**


End file.
